Sources say FBI is asking questions about San Mateo County District Attorney's Office

By Bonnie Eslinger

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted:
02/16/2011 03:00:00 AM PST

The FBI has interviewed several Atherton residents in recent weeks, but the focus of its investigation may include the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, The Daily News has learned.

According to one person who was interviewed by the FBI but requested anonymity, the federal agency is interested in speaking with other people who have information about misconduct or have witnessed misconduct related to the district attorney's office. That could include former or current employees of the office, as well as people whose cases have been represented by it.

Atherton resident Peter Carpenter, a local government watchdog and former federal employee, said he got the investigation rolling by acting as an intermediary between a citizen and the FBI.

He would not disclose who that person was or anyone else interviewed by the FBI, but noted he wasn't among those interviewed.

"The reason why I'm somewhat hesitant to talk about this is, the issue is not Peter Carpenter," he said. "The issue is not who connected who to what. I have made some commitments to the FBI agent when I got involved, and I'll honor those. And I made some commitments to citizens and I'll honor those."

Carpenter said he believes the scope of the investigation includes both Atherton and the district attorney's office.

"It's two-sided, the town of Atherton and the district attorney's office," he said. "(It's) prosecutorial misconduct in the DA's office and a number of allegations and concerns that have been raised by citizens regarding the town of Atherton."

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Carpenter recently interacted with the district attorney's office when he asked it to pursue criminal charges against Menlo Park Council Member Kelly Fergusson for contacting three colleagues before a public meeting to solicit their support for her mayoral bid -- a violation of the state open-government law known as the Brown Act. Though the office looked into the matter, prosecutors did not press Fergusson for an interview after she declined and subsequently concluded that criminal charges were not warranted.

"This DA's office is not particularly enthusiastic about enforcing the law, which I find sad," Carpenter said.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said no one in his office has been interviewed or talked to by the FBI, and he has no knowledge of any investigation.

"Of course there's lots of disgruntled people sometimes that don't like the decisions we make," he said. "But ... there is nothing that I would conceivably be aware of that the FBI would be interested in investigating over here."

The Daily News talked to two people who said they were interviewed by the FBI but did not want to be identified for this story.

But one person who is publicly talking about being interviewed is former Atherton finance director John Johns, who said he met with the FBI for nearly two hours on Jan. 24. He wouldn't discuss the content of the conversation, however.

"I'll continue to be careful not to say what the FBI asked me," Johns said. "But what prompted the FBI to give me a call? It's clear to me it's beyond my experience with the town of Atherton."

Johns received a $225,000 settlement last year after suing the town for wrongful termination. At the time, he filed a criminal complaint with the district attorney's office alleging that the Atherton City Council had violated the Brown Act.

Prosecutors told him they would not pursue the matter due to a lack of evidence, Johns said, criticizing them for not even interviewing him.

Johns said he didn't get any sense that the FBI is specifically investigating the district attorney's office, then added: "But I think they should be."

Though small in size with slightly more than 7,000 residents, Atherton has managed to grab headlines over the years, some of them stemming from significant lawsuits.

One lawsuit that still has the town buzzing involves a resident who sued over an altered police report. An internal police department investigation exonerated the officers who wrote that report.

County Manager David Boesch and County Counsel Michael Murphy said they have no knowledge of an FBI investigation and have not been interviewed.

Atherton Mayor Jim Dobbie said he has not been contacted by the FBI either.

FBI spokeswoman Julianne Sohn said she "can't confirm or deny any sort of investigation," but it's important to note that "people come to the FBI every day with complaints.

"We listen carefully, we ask questions," Sohn said. "That doesn't mean we have enough to proceed with an investigation."